Kuman language (New Guinea)
| Kuman | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in |  Papua New Guinea |
| Region | Simbu Province, from Kundiawa to beyond Kerowagi in the west and Gembogl in the north, at the foot of Mount Wilhelm |
| Native speakers | 115,000 (2000) increasing[1] |
| Language family | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | kue |
Kuman (also Simbu or Chimbu) is a language of Simbu Province, Papua New Guinea. As of 1994[update], it was spoken by about 80,000 people, 10,000 of which were monolinguals. In 2000 the number of speakers increased to 115,000.[1]
Like other Chimbu languages, Kuman has rather unusual lateral consonants. Besides the typical /l/, it has a "laterally released velar affricate" which is voiced medially and voiceless finally (and does not occur initially).[2] Based on related languages, this is presumably /k͡ʟ̝̊/, allophonically [ɡ͡ʟ̝] (see voiceless velar lateral fricative).
[edit] Grammar
Kuman is an SOV language.
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[edit] References
- ^ a b Kuman language (New Guinea) at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009)
- ^ Foley, 1986:63, The Papuan languages of New Guinea
Hardie, Peter. 2003. Is Kuman Tonal? An account of basic segmental and tonological structure in the Papuan language Kuman. MA thesis: Australian National University
[edit] External links
- Kuman language (New Guinea) at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009)
- Kuman in the World Atlas of Language Structures Online
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